Saturday, December 4, 2010

Playtime!


One of the best things about having two dogs is watching them play together. Big dogs playing together can make quite a ruckus, especially when you don't have a big yard. But they've learned how to make do in a small play space.


Occasionally they get so wound up that I fear one of them is about to get impaled on the corner of the coffee table, so I'll jump up and scoot it out of the way, but so far so good. It's fun to watch Lady play. But watching Lucky dash about, chomp on a squeaky toy, then flop down kicking all four legs in the air, well, that's really a treat.

There was a time when Lucky didn't know how to play.
 

Lucky spent the first four years of his life at an overcrowded "no kill" shelter, essentially in solitary confinement. This shelter (which has since been closed down by the state) housed hundreds of dogs and cats in cramped, unsanitary conditions, and convinced me for the first time that there is a place for humane euthanasia. Rehabilitating Lucky and teaching him basic dog social skills has taken years. He still isn't what I would call a "normal" dog. But he's happy, and that's all that matters.




2 comments:

  1. teaching a dog to play! your Lucky has a sadder beginning than our Riley, but Riley was also a dog who needed to learn. we got him from the pound, where he had been "returned" by a family that had (according to the surrender document) "aggressive children and a jealous older dog."

    took a long time for him to trust us, and a long time to learn how to do the play bow. but oh, isn't it wonderful once they do??

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